Mark P. Shea's Blog, page 91

Prayer request

A reader writes: I know you take prayer requests. My dad’s battle with cancer is nearing its end. He’s been enrolled in hospice and is still at home. Poor guy can’t do any necessary tasks by himself anymore. He’s a Catholic and has had confession , communion, and anointing. Thankfully he’s still alert but honestly […]

The Magical Thinking that Blinds…

…is under discussion by Yr. Obdt. Svt. over at Catholic Weekly: I love magic.  When I was a boy, my brother did magic tricks that filled me with wonder.  Once, he made me invisible.  I remember running through the house, waving my hands in my parents’ faces and shouting, “Here I am!” while they looked […]

Rod Bennett and I had a jolly time…

…exploring the hidden depths of “King Kong” on Connecting the Dots.  As ever, I learned stuff I never knew before from this master raconteur and amazing mind: Check out the fun!

Sherry Weddell’s Address to Mundelein Seminary

This is why Bishop Robert Barron regards her Forming Intentional Disciples as the finest work of pastoral theology in years:

Christian vs. Christianist: Sexual Ethics Edition

Here is an excerpt from a letter by Dr. James Dobson, Evangelical Moral Leader: September 1998 Dear Friends: Greetings to you all. Shirley and I have been visiting the historic city of Boston for the past few weeks while working on a new book called Coming Home. I’ll tell you more about that at Christmastime. […]

Kyra Matsui makes cool stuff! You should buy it!

Kyra is a recently single mom of four, Catholic convert for eleven years, and mom to a special needs kid. She sells through www.etsy.com/shop/ironlacedesign and she makes chainmail and steampunk jewelry and rosaries. How cool is that? Remember that First Holy Communion, Confirmation, and Valentine’s Day are all coming up, and her stuff makes a great gift!  […]

A short conversation about lay Catholic apologists

A reader asks: Morning Coffee Thought: This mornings ‘coffee thought’ is designed for Catholics. If you are not Catholic, feel free to keep scrolling. They say debate changes no mind, it simply entrenches us further into previously held opinions. I have evolved over the past decade from being very supportive of lay Catholic speakers and […]

There’s been some promising action from Christendom College…

…in response to the story of rapes and sexual assaults there, broken by Damien and Simcha Fisher. They released this statement, which not only walks back their initial response calling out (unspecified) “misleading information and serious inaccuracies” in the (unnamed) Fishers’ coverage, but actually thanks and praises the Fishers’ for their good work: “I want […]

Bp. Robert Barron reports that Downsizing…

…is a surprisingly Christian film: Downsizing opens in a Norwegian lab where a group of scientists are testing an experimental technique to reduce animals in size. It soon becomes clear that the purpose of these endeavors is to apply the technology to human beings. The most dramatic scene in the film is the moment when the […]

Christian vs. Christianists: Septuaginarian Edition

Jesus calls us to honor the elderly. That means providing for their needs when they reach old age. Christianists, in contrast, believe only in the profit motive and in the Libertarian commitment defending the strong and greedy from the needs of the poor and the weak they eat. Case in point: the destruction of the […]